CARBON VALLEY HEATING AND AIR
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NOVEMBER 2012
NEWS FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS
Little Known Thanksgiving Trivia
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Inside This Issue:
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The famous pilgrim celebration at Plymouth Colony Massachusetts in 1621 is
traditionally regarded as the first American Thanksgiving. However, there are
actually 12 claims to where the “first” Thanksgiving took place: two in Texas, two
in Florida, one in Maine, two in Virginia, and five in Massachusetts.
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President Jefferson called a federal Thanksgiving proclamation “the most
ridiculous idea ever conceived.
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Held every year on the island of Alcatraz since 1975, “Unthanksgiving Day”
commemorates the survival of Native Americans following the arrival and
settlement of Europeans in the Americas.
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Even though President Madison declared that Thanksgiving should be held twice in
1815, none of the celebrations occurred in the autumn.
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In 2007, George W. Bush granted a pardon to two turkeys named May and Flower.
The tradition of pardoning Thanksgiving turkeys began in 1947, though Abraham
Lincoln is said to have informally started the practice when he pardoned his son’s
pet turkey.
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Thanksgiving football games began with Yale versus Princeton in 1876.
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Long before the Pilgrims, native Hawaiians celebrated the longest thanksgiving in
the world—Makahiki, which lasted four months, approximately from November
through February. During this time, both work and war were forbidden.
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In 1920, Gimbels department store in Philadelphia held a parade with about 50
people and Santa Claus bringing up the rear. The parade is now known as the 6abc
IKEA Thanksgiving Day Parade and is the nation’s oldest Thanksgiving Day parade.
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The average long-distance Thanksgiving trip is 214 miles, compared with 275 miles
over the Christmas and New Year’s holiday.
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Now a Thanksgiving dinner staple, cranberries were actually used by Native
Americans to treat arrow wounds and to dye clothes.
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When President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving to the next-to-last
Thursday in November to prolong the holiday shopping season, many Republicans
rebelled. The holiday was temporarily celebrated on different dates: November 30
became the “Republican Thanksgiving” and November 23 was “Franksgiving” or
“Democrat Thanksgiving.
Spot a Texting Driver
Get a Good Night’s
Sleep
Tips for teaching and
Protecting Your
Children
Unexpected Uses for
Peanut Butter
Plus much, much more!!!
Around The House Newsletter
Page 2
How to Spot a Texting Driver
Texting while driving is illegal in 39 states and the District of Columbia. In most of those states, it's a primary enforcement
violation, meaning the officer can stop a motorist solely for texting while driving, says the Governors Highway Safety
Association.
The laws are having an unintended consequence. Instead of holding the phone up by their face, violators are putting it down in
their laps. They think officers, cops and troopers won't be able to see it, says the National Troopers Coalitions, which has
45,000 members.
The troopers say these texters are more dangerous because their eyes are off the road for a longer time, but they are just as
easy to spot.
Generally, they act like drunk drivers, going too fast or too slow for the traffic, weaving or not paying attention when the light
turns red or green. Sometimes their heads are down and only one hand is on the wheel.
Officers advise motorists to give plenty of space to a texter, because he's an accident waiting to happen. Texters are 23 times
more likely to be involved in an accident than non-texting drivers.
If you spot a very dangerous driver, call 911. Police say you should never confront the individual. That's where road rage could
begin.
A 2009 study showed that sending a text or email takes a driver's eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. That's about
how long it takes a vehicle going 55 mph to cover the length of a football field.
Just for Fun
Typewriter Words
TYPEWRITER (10 letters) can be typed using only the top row of keys on a
standard keyboard. Other ten-letter words with this property
are PEPPERROOT, PEPPERWORT, PERPETUITY,
PEWTERWORT, PIROUETTER, PREREQUIRE, PRETORTURE,
PROPRIETOR, REPERTOIRE, REPETITORY, TETTERWORT. If hyphens are
allowed, then TEETER-TOTTER (12 letters) is possible, as is TEETERTOTTERER (14 letters), although the latter is not found in dictionaries.
Another possible 12-letter word, POWERTRIPPER, is also not in any major
dictionary.
Inside each set of the following words,
there are a pair of smaller words. By
putting & between them, lo & behold,
you'll make a familiar phrase. For
example, "Thighbone/Swallowtail"
conceals "High & Low."
1. Skyrocketing/Trolleyman
2. Thermometer/Apoplexy
3. Delaware/Bordering
4. Surprised/Trashiness
5. Throughout/Stumblebum
Answer on page 8
SHAKALSHAS (10 letters) is the longest word which can be typed using only
the middle row of letters on the keyboard. Others
include HAGGADAHS, FLAGFALLS,
HADASSAHS, GALAGALA, GALAHADS, HASKALAH, and ALFALFAS.
The only dictionary word which can be typed using only the bottom row of
letters is ZZZ (to indicate sleeping). (There are no vowels in the bottom row.)
AFTERCATARACTS, TESSERADECADES and TETRASTEARATES (each 14 letters)
are the longest words which can be typed using only the fingers of the left
hand, using the standard method of typing.
Using only the fingers of the right hand, one can type the 12-letter
word JOHNNY-JUMP-UP (common name for a flower) including the
hyphens, and also PHYLLOPHYLLIN (13 letters).
Around The House Newsletter
Page 3
Carbon Valley Heating and Air
November Is:
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Child Safety Protection Month
•
Aviation History Month
•
National Adoption Awareness Month
•
National Model Railroad Month
•
Native American Heritage Month
•
Peanut Butter Lovers Month
•
National Epilepsy Month
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National Sleep Comfort Month
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National Novel Writing Month
Time to Layaway!
Sleep Tight! Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite!
1. Tie up any loose ends prior to getting into
bed. Finish anything that needs to be finished.
Go to bed with a happy and content mind
knowing that all of your chores are
accomplished.
2. Get comfortable clothes to sleep in. If your
pajama pants are too tight, or if your night shirt
keeps hiking up, you will be busy fixing them
instead of enjoying sleeping in them.
3. Arrange your bed for comfort. Remember that
when you start to doze off, your body
temperature drops. When this happens, if you do
not have a warm enough blanket, you will get a
chill and be unable to sleep. On the other hand
during the hot months, if your blanket is too
heavy, you will sweat and once again be unable to
sleep.
At Walmart stores, Christmas shopping started in
August. Though the company charges a $5 open
account fee and requires either $10 or a payment of 10
percent of the $50 or more purchase, customers will get
$5 back in the form of a Walmart gift card after making
the final payment and pickup by Dec. 14.
4. Relax by reading before shutting off the light.
This will take your mind off any personal problems
you might have, and when you start getting tired,
you will fall asleep easier.
Customers have told Walmart they need two extra
paychecks to buy what they want for Christmas and
starting the service in August helped them buy what
they wanted
5. If you have trouble sleeping in a new place,
turn the temperature a little bit. Not sure why,
but changing the temperature helps some people
sleep better. So find a comfortable temp. to sleep
in.
Layaway programs have become popular since the
economic downturn in 2008. Customers want to make
choices early, but don't want to charge to their credit
cards.
Around The House Newsletter
Page 4
To solve a sudoku, you only need logic and patience. No math is required.
Simply make sure that each 3x3 square region has a number 1 through 9 with only one
occurrence of each number.
Each column and row of the large grid must have only one instance of the numbers 1
through 9.
The difficulty rating on this puzzle is easy.
Around The House Newsletter
Page 5
10 Tips for Teaching and Protecting your Child
Accept your role as your child’s protector and teacher. The kinds of issues our children are expected to deal with
today are complex and often dangerous. Problems like violence, bullying, and online predators are commonplace in
their world. To protect your son or daughter’s emotional and physical well-being, you must learn about these and
other tough issues and develop the skills to discuss them effectively. (See related article “Make It Easy for Your Kids to
Talk to You.”)
2. Teach your child that he/she has the right to be safe. From the time your child understands words, instill in her the
core belief that no one has the right to make her feel threatened or unsafe. This right is non-negotiable and is
guaranteed by the United Nations/UNICEF Children’s Protections Rights.
3. Prepare – don’t scare – your kids. It is easy to get overwhelmed with your worries about your child’s safety. But,
research shows that if you contaminate what you are trying to teach with your fears, your child won’t remember your
message, only that you were scared. Practice using moderate language and a matter-of-fact tone when you discuss
sensitive issues. Focus on what your child needs to learn rather than why it upsets you. Share your fears and worries
with other adults rather than your children.
4. Help your child say ‘no.’ Did you say no to your parents? Do your kids say no to you? Whether or not your grew up
with the right to set verbal boundaries with adults in authority, children need to be empowered with the right to say no
to anyone who is acting inappropriately, regardless of their position or power. This is a first step in turning “nice” kids,
who are compliant in most situations, in to “safe and strong” kids, who obey adults unless they feel confused or
threatened.
5. Teach your child to recognize, trust, and act on her instincts. Help your child respond quickly and self-protectively if
he or she gets an inner signal that something is not right. It might be a voice in her head that says “Uh-oh, this isn’t
OK.” Or maybe it’s a feeling in the pit of his stomach. Regardless of how the warning alarm sounds, the important
thing is that your child be taught to listen to it and not rationalizes a person’s behavior or wait for the situation to
escalate.
6. Teach and model healthy boundaries in relationships. Beginning with body awareness in pre-school, children need to
learn what a “respectful distance” looks and feels like. They also need to recognize if someone is ignoring their
boundaries and what to do about it. The respect that you show for your children’s physical and emotional space will
set the tone for how they let others treat them.
7. Protect, Prepare, Practice, Praise, and Preview. Use these 5 steps to teach your child skills such as crossing the street
safely, riding the bus, walking to school, basically any skill where his safety is at stake. The emphasize is on supervised
practice, which allows you to gauge your child’s progress and ensures that you don’t give him a new privilege or
responsibility before he is prepared to handle it successfully.
8. Monitor your child. Protective parenting is not about hovering or being paranoid. It’s about being a good observer,
supervisor, and sometimes a detective. Listen to and watch your child. Be curious, involved, and ask
questions. Notice any changes in her behavior or moods. You want to catch early signs of a budding problem rather
than deal with a full-blown crisis.
9. Cultivate your child’s self-esteem and desirable traits. Be strategic and enthusiastically praise glimpses of behavior
that you want to see more of, such as using good judgment or acting responsibly. Your child or teen will pick up on
your pleasure in watching him become trustworthy and responsible and will try harder to demonstrate those kinds of
behaviors.
10. Tell them you love them. In addition to expressing your love and appreciation when you feel proud of your child, be
sure to express your love for no special reason or when the going gets tough. Kids who are loved unconditionally feel
more worthwhile and are less vulnerable to mistreatment by others.
1.
Around The House Newsletter
Page 6
Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole
Ingredients
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•
•
•
•
•
•
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3 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons butter divided
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 cup finely crushed herb-seasoned dry bread stuffing mix
1 cup cooked, diced turkey meat
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over low heat. Blend in the flour. Slowly stir in evaporated milk and
water, then season with salt, pepper, and onion powder. Stir sauce over low heat for 5 minutes.
3. In a separate saucepan over low heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Blend in the dry stuffing mix. Place the turkey
in the prepared baking dish. Pour the sauce over turkey, then sprinkle with Cheddar cheese. Spread mashed
potatoes over cheese. Top mashed potatoes with the stuffing mixture.
4. Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven.
Recipe Source: AllRecipes.com
Peanut butter, a staple in most household pantries, can serve an astonishing variety of household purposes. Try
these:
• Use a bit of peanut butter on a cotton cloth to rub off label adhesives.
• Massage a bit of peanut butter into hair to remove a wad of chewing gum.
• Use a thin coat as a substitute for shaving cream. (Really! Hydrates and moisturizes.)
• Polish leather and vinyl items using a bit of peanut butter on a cotton cloth. Buffs up wooden items, too.
• Hang pine cones stuffed with a mixture of peanut butter and coarse cornmeal as a treat for winter birds.
• Smear it on garden tools (including wooden handles) as a winter preservative and on lawn-mower blades
as a lubricant.
• Spread some on a slice of apple or a scrap of bread for a good mousetrap bait.
• Encourage your dog to swallow a pill by sticking it into the center of a little gob of peanut butter.
Marshmallow and Peanut Butter Dessert
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1 cup marshmallows
2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
1 (1.69 ounce) package candy-coated milk chocolate pieces
Place the marshmallows and peanut butter in a saucepan over medium heat, and stir
constantly until the marshmallows have melted and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the
candy. Pour into a bowl, and let cool; eat slightly warm or cool.
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